One well-groomed eyebrow lowered while the other raised up. She looked down at me, far more amused than she rightly should be!
I could feel a ridiculous heat start to spread along the sides of my face already. An embarrassment for my words that I should not possess…
But I am clearly, by looks, just Helene Duskpaw. Just a nobody werewolf.
Urgh. Now that I've said it out loud, I can't just take it back. Jokes are big with humans here, but…
I refuse to lie on this, even if I might start omitting from here out. My breath comes out while closing my eyes, before raising my chin and turning on further imperial majesty as I breathe in. It does not work as I hope.
"Ah. Are you perhaps asking me to treat you like my Princess? That... was already my plan."
My reaction was immediate - a choking cough of indignation. As well as something else I absolutely refused to acknowledge as anything other than 'suspicion' of her motives.
Suspicion that feels too close to being swept away in someone else's charisma.
While I was stuck in fighting that, her follow up movements were swift and assured. Hands moved to cup my face. Surprisingly warm fingers slid against the skin of my cheeks.
And her face drew closer, causing my pupils to dilate. The 'cheesy' line and sudden intimacy made it seem like I was about to be kissed by this stranger.
Before I realized she was only attempting that almost as intimate gesture of werewolves in this world. Forehead-to-forehead. My good sense returned.
My response was instantaneous. And… arctic.
"Remove your hands from me this instant, you stupid wolf."
The words weren't a request. They were a command, layered with every drop of royal authority I'd ever been endowed with.
My voice was about all I could control right now. This body refuses to listen.
"This behavior of yours is presumptuous."
Something shifted in her expression as I doubled down. The satisfaction began to drain from her face, replaced by a frown of realization.
> This isn't a playful resistance. If you do not start helping me, I will find a way to sever your soul from this body. Even if I have to make an enemy of this world's Lunar Goddess. <
My wolf whined and whimpered, unwilling to go against the enticing Alpha whose hands hovered an inch away. Pulled back and uncertain.
For the first time since she'd appeared, she actually looked slightly wrong-footed.
So I kept going, pressing the advantage while adding all the pride and genuine outrage over my circumstances into my voice.
"Touching without consent, claiming or rejecting a bond without even asking, reducing everything to the blame of some primal urge - it's exactly what's wrong with the entire werewolf culture."
The fingers dropped further away and her bewitching posture froze like that. Her brown eyes shook, though I expect not entirely from shame.
Rather… like she was reassessing something? Openly planning their next move in front of me.
"You talk so quickly about treating me like a princess. I suppose that was right."
I spat venomously. Words I could not dare to so openly speak against any suitor deemed valid by the royal family in my kingdom.
But right now, I can't stop myself from doing…the only thing I can before I die at this tyrant's hand. Speak my mind.
"You would take me as a trophy, traded to your kingdom of Vossden to prevent escalation of hostilities. As reparations for what you'll force me to owe you. Demonstrate my existence as a commodity in just another form of your domination."
"Domination…?"
The cool toned voice was gentler. Unsure… and it made me clench my fist. In anger at her and myself.
That this body reacted favorably to it. Her touch and closeness. That the wolf companion I'm stuck with still wants it.
"Your hands on my face. Zero distance. That delicious scent you overpowered me with. Are they not all calculated biological manipulations?"
She took another step back when I spoke of distance again. The woman held up and looked at her own 'offending' hand with… genuine shock.
She's not… dull minded, I hope? I did call her a stupid wolf, but I didn't… really mean it.
So I have to think that what I'm saying is getting through.
Otherwise I'd probably have been attacked by now. Instead I'm being listened to.
"You… are not what I expected."
The look on her face was calm despite admitting to that. I couldn't help myself from laughing, a sharp and brittle thing.
"And what exactly did you expect? Some submissive girl eager to fall into your arms the moment you spread them wide?"
With her further away, I can finally move. But I only use that to gesture, my arms spreading as if waiting to be embraced.
And I'm not sure if I'm testing her or something else.
"Or did you perhaps see me as a damsel waiting here to be rescued by a wolf in shining white armor… who surely thinks her mere presence is the worthiest of gifts?"
The growling and barking from inside my mindscape let me know I might have went too far. My wolf is right, there was no cause to demean her at the end and accuse her of narcissism like a hypocrite.
> I'm just… it was petty revenge for being so… so confident and attractive! And clean! If only we'd met on even footing, I'm sure this would not have turned out- <
"No. The problem is that I don't think I ever expected any of this to happen at all. Which is why it all went so poorly."
Her crisply spoken words hung suspended between us, leading to a rather charged silence. She is an immensely… effective orator.
My arms lower to my sides and clench as an expression as soft as powdered snow replaced her earlier, entirely predatory, confidence.
"You were right, My approach was... inappropriate. The kind of thing I would not have appreciated if our roles would have been reversed."
I didn't soften from the words - or the look. Talk is cheap, after all. It only holds the value of the other person's trustworthiness.
And while I admit it is clearly higher than zero right now, the amount I am willing to trust is not that high in the first place.
There is too much at stake, with a child about to grow in this body's womb. Without knowing if death here means I will never return to my real body.
As if she could tell that I was still on the fence, even with her change, she took yet another step back. An Alpha that actually continues to cede space to me…
> Why are both of you just acting so nonsensically… and why am I? <
She gestured to herself and pat once over her chest upon the royal red shirt - and I smirk. Mine and Helene's assets are larger when taking human forms, so I can't help but feel 'superior'.
Even if I also want to throttle myself for giving any special value to a quality that makes me more attractive to those looking to claim me as their mate…
"A proper introduction might be more appropriate. I'm Kyrie Voss. CEO of Lunarizon Industries."